Sister Helen Urban dies after 75 years in congregation

Sister Helen Urban died Sept. 17, 2009, at Nazareth Motherhouse in Concordia. She was 95 years old and a Sister of St. Joseph for 75 years.


She was born in Topeka on July 10, 1914, to John J. and Appolonia Urban, the first of four children, and was baptized Helen. She lived her early childhood in Pfeifer, Kan. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia on Feb. 10, 1934. On March 14, 1934, Helen received the habit of the Sisters of St. Joseph and was given the name Sister Mary Alexia. Later, she changed to her baptismal name Helen. She pronounced first vows on Aug. 15, 1935, and final vows on Aug. 15, 1938.

Sister Helen received a bachelor’s degree in education from Marymount College in Salina, and a master’s degree in education from Creighton University, Omaha, Neb. She taught in elementary schools staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph in the Kansas cities of Gorham, New Almelo, Herndon, Cawker City, Aurora, Junction City, Plainville, Manhattan and Salina, and in Gladstone, Mich., and Grand Island, Neb. In 1991 she retired to Medaille Center in Salina, and then moved to the Motherhouse in 2002.

Sister Helen was preceded in death by her parents and her three siblings. A Bible Vigil Service will be held Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, at 7 p.m. in the Sacred Heart Chapel at the Motherhouse with Sister Bette Moslander as the eulogist. The Mass of Christian Burial will be Monday, Sept. 21, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. in the Motherhouse Chapel with Father Frank Coady as presider. The burial will be in the Nazareth Motherhouse Cemetery. Chaput-Buoy Mortuary, 325 W. 6th St., Concordia, KS is in charge of arrangements.

Memorials for Sister Helen Urban may be sent to the Sisters of St. Joseph Health Care/ Retirement Fund or the Apostolic Works of the Sisters; P.O Box 279, Concordia KS 66901.

Victory Noll Sister joins Manna House staff

Sister Mary Jo Nelson, a member of the Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters, has joined the staff at the Manna House of Prayer in Concordia.


Her congregation — often called the Victory Noll Sisters, from the name of their Motherhouse — is based in Huntington, Ind.


Sister Mary Jo was raised in Portland, Ore., and attended St. Mary’s Academy, a Catholic high school in Portland operated by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. It was while attending the Holy Names’ Fort Wright College in Spokane, Wash., that she felt called to religious life. Holy Names was a teaching order, and the Holy Names vocation director suggested the Victory Noll Sisters because of that congregation’s broader work with the poor. Sister Mary Jo entered in 1969.


She completed her bachelor’s degree at Regis University in Denver. Later she would earn a degree in organizational development from Loyola University.

She worked in parishes in Denver, Texas and California, and in 1980 was asked by the bishop of the newly formed Diocese of San Bernardino to become the diocesan religious education director. She eventually served there as pastoral planner and then chancellor.

In 2000 Sister Mary Jo was elected to the Leadership Team for her congregation and returned to Huntington for eight years. After a yearlong sabbatical, she has come to Manna House.

Manna House is a retreat center operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia, and it offers a wide range of spiritual retreats and workshops throughout the year. For a complete schedule of upcoming events, click HERE.

Sister Mary Jo will be available to be a facilitator for other congregations, provide mediation and conflict resolution services, help with Manna House’s current retreats and develop new programs.

“They asked me to come and be creative,” she says of the other sisters at Manna House. “That’s my challenge — and my freedom.”

Sister Mary Jo joins seven other sisters on the Manna House staff. There are six Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia — Marcia Allen, Janet Lander, Bette Moslander, Liberata Pellerin, Betty Suther and Carolyn Teter — as well as one Dominican Sister, Joan Ice.

REVISED SCHEDULE: Sunday event brings together four faiths for peace

A commemoration of the International Day of Peace this Sunday will feature prayers from Buddhists, Catholics, Muslims and Protestants.

The day begins with 11 a.m. Mass in the Sacred Heart Chapel at the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse in Concordia, followed by lunch with the sisters. Those planning to be there for lunch are asked to RSVP by Friday, Sept. 18, to Sister Esther Pineda, 785-819-2762.

At 1:30, there will be a Christian prayer and reflection, led by the Rev. Sandra Moore of the First United Methodist Church. That will be followed by a Buddhist prayer and reflection, led by members of the Buddhist Temple of Kansas in Salina, and then a Muslim prayer and reflection, led by a student at Cloud County Community College. A closing ecumenical prayer that includes all the faiths represented is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Refreshments will be available in the Motherhouse dining room after the service, which is open to people of all faiths.

The United Nations’ International Day of Peace — marked each year on Sept. 21 — is a global holiday when individuals, communities, nations and governments highlight efforts to end conflict and promote peace.

Established by U.N. resolution in 1982, “Peace Day” has grown to include millions of people around the world who participate in all kinds of events, large and small. The Motherhouse event on Sunday is presented by the Sisters of St. Joseph Justice and Peace Center in Salina.

100+ TV stations nationwide to air documentary

More than 100 ABC television stations nationwide plan to broadcast the new documentary, “Interrupted Lives: Catholic Sisters Under European Communism,” when it’s released this Sunday.

Stations from Alaska to Florida and Hawaii to New England will air the one-hour program based on the decades of research by Sisters Mary Savoie ad Margaret Nacke, both Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia.

The list of stations is available on the web site for the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission (www.interfaithbroadcasting.com), a coalition of American religious organizations that provide faith programming to the major television networks. “Interrupted Lives” was submitted by the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops, which provided part of its funding, and is being offered to ABC affiliates as part of the network’s “Vision and Values” series.

(To go to the IBC list, click HERE.)

The IBC list, while extensive, is not complete. As one example, KTKA-49, the ABC affiliate in Topeka, is scheduled to air “Interrupted Lives” at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, but it is not included in the IBC list. (KTKA had earlier announced that the documentary would air Sunday night, but the time has changed, according to the station’s posted schedule.) Viewers can check the schedules of specific ABC stations by going to their web sites or calling their offices.

For more on “Interrupted Lives,” the IBC or how to encourage ABC stations to air the program, you can click HERE to go to that page on the csjkansas web site.

Wichita station adds documentary to Sunday schedule

KAKE-TV of Wichita announced Thursday it would show an hourlong documentary produced by two Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, on its translator stations and channels that serve north-central and northwest Kansas.

“Interrupted Lives: Catholic Sisters Under European Communism” recounts the torture, exile and imprisonment that Catholic women religious in Eastern Europe suffered for more than 40 years. Sister Margaret Nacke and Sister Mary Savoie, who live in Belleville, began researching the topic after they volunteered to serve in Eastern Europe in 1993.

They are executive producers of the documentary, which was funded in part by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and produced by NewGroup Media of South Bend, Ind.

The program is distributed by the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission to ABC TV stations, which can choose whether to air the documentary.
Initially, a KAKE-TV spokesman said the station does not show those programs, but this week the station said it would air the documentary on its stations outside of Wichita.

The program can be seen on KAKE’s two translator stations — KLBY of Colby and KUPK of Garden City — and on its translator channels — Channel 51 in Salina, Channel 25 in Hays, Channel 38 in Russell and Channel 30 in Great Bend.

Cable TV customers whose cable companies use those translator stations and channels will be able to see the program, as can anyone using a traditional TV antenna. However, satellite TV subscribers typically receive the station’s direct feed from Wichita and would not be able to see the program.

Cable customers should check with their companies to see if the program will air on their system.

Two other ABC stations in the state also will show the documentary.

• KTKA-TV in Topeka will air it at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 13. That station is carried in Junction City, Manhattan and Ogden.
• Salina cable TV customers also receive KMBC-TV of Kansas City, Mo., which will show the program at 4 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26.

To order a DVD of the documentary, call the USCCB at (800) 235-8722.

College connects with tour, supper

A group of faculty and students from Cloud College Community College toured the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse this afternoon, and then stayed for supper and conversation.


The visit was organized by Sister Julie Christensen, with assistance from Sisters Jean Rosemarynoski and Anna Marie Broxterman, and Sister Judy Stephens led the tour. This is the second time in about six months that the college has helped arrange for its students and staff to tour the historic building and have a chance to meet the sisters.


The idea is to introduce new faculty and students to the sisters and some of Concordia’s past and present, while also helping to keep sisters at the Motherhouse informed about the college and the people there.

Forum process leads to Year of Peace and other progress

The results of citizens working together — from a completed Community Resource Guide to an official proclamation for the Concordia Year of Peace — led the agenda at Thursday’s community forum.


As each small group gave its report, it was obvious how far the process has come in eight months. Instead of talking just about the challenges the city of Concordia faces — and there was some of that — most of the discussion among the 40 people in attendance at the Motherhouse for the working lunch focused on what has been accomplished or is in the works.


In addition to residents from throughout Concordia, also on hand were Joel Wright of the Kansas-based consulting firm Team Tech Inc. and Lisa Koch, the public transit manager for the Kansas Department of Transportation. Wright and Koch play leading roles on the Salina Regional Transit Breakthrough Team that has been studying the problems of public transportation in a 10-county area and looking for solutions that can be the basis for a pilot project.

The team is looking at ways to coordinate services and better serve people in need for public transportation throughout the pilot project area, roughly from Ellsworth north to the Nebraska state line, Wright said.


“But this is not us coming in from the outside pressing our ideas down on people,” he added. “This is looking at ideas that come up from the local areas.”


Wright and Koch attended Thursday’s working lunch at the invitation of Judie Deal and James Quillen, both of OCCK Inc., who have been attending the Breakthrough Team meetings in Salina.

Wright also announced that the next Breakthrough Team meeting will be Sept. 24, in Salina. Anyone interested in attending should call Deal at 243-1977.


Local project updates at Thursday’s lunch included:


• The completed Cloud County Community Resource Directory, which was taken on by a small group led by Cecelia Thrash of Manna House of Prayer and Cathy Feriend of the Community Resource Center. The 30-page guide lists a wide variety of local social and health services plus emergency phone numbers and state and national hotline numbers. Anyone who wants a copy should call Thrash at 248-4428 or Feriend at 243-1065.


• The Neighbor to Neighbor center, which is beginning a limited program at the Motherhouse while its building in downtown Concordia is being renovated. The “interim program” begins Sept. 21 and will be from 9 to 11 a.m. every Monday and Wednesday in the Motherhouse Auditorium. There is no charge, and women and women with preschool children are invited to stop by and meet Sisters Pat McLennon, Ramona Medina and Jean Befort, and find out more about what will be offered. For information, they can call the sisters at 243-9689.

• The Concordia Year of Peace, which will kick off during Fall Fest Sept. 26. And it should be a showy beginning, complete with a float, T-shirts and polo shirts, posters, buttons and two songs composed by Patrick Sieben of Cloud County Community College.


Next week Mayor Greg Hattan is expected to issue a proclamation officially marking the Concordia Year of Peace, and the committee will have both a float and a booth during Fall Fest. Committee members will be selling Year of Peace T-shirts and polo shirts, and will have free activities and buttons available at their booth at Sixth Street and Broadway.


The Year of Peace Committee has received a $500 grant from the Community Foundation for Cloud County, to help cover some of its initial expenses. A fundraiser is planned in October.

Also in October, the committee is joining with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia and the Frank Carlson Library to offer a six-week study program titled “Engage: Exploring Nonviolent Living.”


The sessions begin Oct. 7 and will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the library. The program allows participants to learn, practice and experiment with the power of creative nonviolence to transform our lives and our world.


The only cost to attend is $22.60 to purchase the “Engage” workbook, and payment must be received by Sept. 30. To register or for more information, call Sister Anna Marie Broxterman at 243-2149 (office) or 243-2172 (home).


But discussion of successes Thursday did not completely overshadow troubling topics that have come up in earlier forums. Sister Marcia Allen, president of the Concordia congregation and emcee for Thursday’s lunch, said the next forum — on Thursday, Oct. 22 — will be an opportunity to “reconnoiter.”


“We don’t want to allow any of the ideas that have come up to fall through the cracks,” she said.


Thursday’s meeting was the sixth in a process that started in the fall of 2008 with informal lunches at the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse, at 13th and Washington streets. In addition to identifying what participants see as the greatest needs in the community, the meetings have established smaller groups to seek solutions. Everyone in the community is invited to take part, and anyone can join at any time. If you’d like to be reminded of the next meeting, please contact Sister Jean Rosemarynoski at 243-2149 or sisterjean@csjkansas.org.

100+ TV stations nationwide to air documentary

More than 100 ABC television stations nationwide plan to broadcast the new documentary, “Interrupted Lives: Catholic Sisters Under European Communism,” when it’s released this Sunday.

Stations from Alaska to Florida and Hawaii to New England will air the one-hour program based on the decades of research by Sisters Mary Savoie ad Margaret Nacke, both Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia.

The list of stations is available on the web site for the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission (www.interfaithbroadcasting.com), a coalition of American religious organizations that provide faith programming to the major television networks. “Interrupted Lives” was submitted by the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops, which provided part of its funding, and is being offered to ABC affiliates as part of the network’s “Vision and Values” series.

(To go to the IBC list, click HERE.)

The IBC list, while extensive, is not complete. As one example, KTKA-49, the ABC affiliate in Topeka, is scheduled to air “Interrupted Lives” at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, but it is not included in the IBC list. (KTKA had earlier announced that the documentary would air Sunday night, but the time has changed, according to the station’s posted schedule.) Viewers can check the schedules of specific ABC stations by going to their web sites or calling their offices.

For more on “Interrupted Lives,” the IBC or how to encourage ABC stations to air the program, you can click HERE to go to that page on the csjkansas web site.

Relay for Life team beats fundraising goal, presents prizes

The 29-member Motherhouse Relay for Life Team has raised more than $6,200 in advance of the Sept. 12 event, bettering its goal by nearly 25 percent.

On Tuesday, the team leaders also drew the winning tickets in this year’s Relay for Life drawing. They were, with the gift they received:

• Marcelline Bonebrake – Quilt
• Sister Marcia Allen – Thermos Set
• Connie Bonebrake – Relay Back Pack
• Rose Koerber – Relay Lunch Bag
• Lynette Beam – Relay Water Bottle

This year the Motherhouse Team had a fundraising goal of $5,000, just slightly more than team members raised for the 2008 event. But as of today, members have raised $6,227.25 to be donated toward cancer research.

Relay for Life is a nationwide fundraising event that began in 1989. The theme of the 2009 event is “Celebrate
25 Years of Hope.” In 2008, more than 4,900 communities and 19 countries hosted Relay For Life events, raising an estimated $420 million for the American Cancer society, making this the largest fundraising event of any kind.

This year’s Concordia Relay for Life begins at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at the city Sports Complex; it will conclude at 6 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 13.

The members of the 2009 Motherhouse team are:

Mary Jane Gallagher (team captain)
Alfreda Maley (team captain)

Sharon Bates
Sister Jean Befort
Connie Bonebrake
Donna Breault
Sister Julie Christensen
Rita Collette
Rope Dorman
Sister Pat Eichner
Michelle Gallagher
Tina Goff
Sister Lucille Herman
Aryls Hubert
Sister Joan Ice
Sister Loretta Jasper
Vikki Jochems
Virginia Johnson
Sister Dorothy Marquez
Sister Ramona Medina
Sister Shirley Meier
Marcia Mick
Kayla Ramsey
Ashytn Shepard
Sister Judy Stephens
Sister Betty Suther
Paula Tatum
Dottie Vohs
Lynn Weaver

Watch the documentary preview

To watch the six-minute “trailer” (or preview) of the documentary “Interrupted Lives,” click HERE and then scroll down several items to find it.

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